Editing Autosplenectomy (section)

==== Howell-Jolly bodies ====
[[Howell–Jolly body|Howell–Jolly bodies]] are found on [[red blood cell]]s and contain chromatin remnants from basophilic cells.<ref>{{Cite journal|pmc = 4103047|title = Functional hyposplenism|last = Kirkineska|first = L|date = 2014|journal = Hippokratia|pmid = 25125944|volume=18|issue = 1|pages=7–11}}</ref> Under normal conditions, these nuclear remnants are removed from the blood by the spleen's filtering capabilities. Howell-Jolly bodies can be identified and quantified using a blood smear or by flow cytometry.<ref name="Brousse 165–176"/> A high number of Howell-Jolly bodies is indicative of splenic hypofunction and potentially autosplenectomy.